Boot support of inverted u-shaped configuration



G. E. s'rRuaL.: 3,041,643

BOOT SUPPORT OF INVERTED U-SHAPED CONFIGURATION I July 3, 1962 Filed March 23. 1959 R m E SN Wm 9. E. n w m mm G nn Vm w W0 ...MW /////////////////////////////////////////////////V- M l ,W H W W 14 M.- M.. m HH u I ,m TL

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ATTORNEY United States Patent() 3,041,643 v BOOT SUPPRT F ENVERTED U-SHAPED CONFIGURATION Glenn E. Struble, Hamilton, 0hi0, assigner to Diamond National Corporation, a corporation of Delaware Filed Mar. 23, 1959, Ser. No. 801,065 2 Claims. (Cl. 12--128)l The present invention relates to a support, and more particularly to a support for boots and the like which is made from a single blank of sheet material and which has depending, outwardly bowed panels.

In order to display boots and similar articles so that they will have a natural and pleasing appearance, it has been the practice in the past to stufl:` paper, such as tissue paper, into the article. This has been a cumbersome solution, at best, to the problem and will be seen to require considerable time both in stuffing the boots and in removing lthe paper from the boots when it is desired to try them on.

With the increasing sales in boots of the cowboy type, particularly to children and youths, there has arisen ademand for a better solution to the problem of attractively displaying the boots, and at the same time to permit them to be readily tried on by the potential customer. The object affording the-solution to the problem should, of course, be as economical aspossible in order that the cost of the boots may not be raised appreciably thereby. Hence, such an article should be simple, made from an economical material, and should not require a great amount of processing in its manufacture. Further, such an article should be so manufactured that it can be shipped separately from the boots to the retail store, where it may be quickly and conveniently placed into the boots. The article should be so constructed that it requires a minimum of shipping space, so that shipping costs may be kept ata minimum, and also should be relatively light.

It is a general object of the present invention, therefore, to provide a support for boots and the like that will achieve the desideratum above discussed.

Another object of the present invention is the provision of a support for boots and the like that will give the object supported a pleasing and naturally rounded appearance.

A still further object of the present invention is to provisie such a boot support that will be extremely econom- 1c Yet another object of the present invention is the provision of a support for boots that may be made from one piece of material.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a boot support that will require a minimum of manufacturing steps, and-therefore of manufacturing cost, and will also require a minimum of raw material.

Other objects and Ithe nature and advantages of the instant invention will be apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a blank for a support for boots and the like in accordance with the present invention;-

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a boot support erected from the blank of FIG. l and having an inverted U- shaped configuration;

FIG. 3 illustrates the boot support of FIG. 2 placed into and supporting a boot.

Referring now to the drawings, wherein like reference characters are used for like or corresponding parts :throughout the several views, there is shown in FIG. 1 a

blank that is generally rectangular in outline and has a pair of linearly disposed elongate panels 12 and 14.

Between the panels 12 and 14 there is a connecting panel 16 which is joined to the inner ends of the panels .12 and 14.

Panel 12 is joined to connecting panel 16 by an arcuate score 18 and panel 14 is joined to connecting panel 16 by an arcuate score 20.Y The scores 18 and 20 extend generally transversely of the blank 10, and are outwardly bowed. In addition, the connecting panel 16 has 1ongitudinal extent even at the margins of the blank 10, since the ends of the score lines 18 and 20 are spaced from each other longitudinally of the blank.

Partially severed from the connecting panel`16 are a j pair of tabs 22 and 24, the tab 22 being defined by a U- shaped cut 26 and the tab 24 being defined by an oppositely facing U-shaped cut 28. Tab 22 is connected to the material of the panel 16 along a straight fold line 30 that extends across the arms of the U-shaped cut 26 and the tab 24 is similarly connected to the material of connecting panel 16 by a fold line 32 extending across the arms of the U-shaped cut" 28. 1

Blank 10 is preferably made from paperboard, and this is an extremely economical material. In addition, the processing of the paperboard raw materialr to provide the outline, the cuts and the scores above described is relatively simple and requires a minimum of vmanufacturing steps; hence, the blank 10 is extremely economical lto manufacture. of the blanks 10 may be shipped in stacked array to their destination in conveniently handled packages or cartons, and it will be seen that the blank 10 when thus packaged willtake up a minimum of shipping space and will be of relatively light Weight, both to the end of keeping shipping charges to a minimum.

Once the blanks 10 have arrived at the destination, they are readily erected by hand Iinto a boot support, and take the form shown in FIG. 2,.

In FIG. 2 it may be seen that the boot support made from the blank 1l) has the connecting panel -16 placed in a generally horizontal position, with the panels 12 and 14 depending therefrom and extending generally vertically; thus, the panels 12 and 14 may be seen to be destined to be support panels for the boot into which the support will be inserted. The tabs 22 and 24 have been folded downwardly about the fold lines 30 and 32, and thus provide openings inthe connecting panel 16 into which the fingers of a person may be inserted for easy gripping and handling of the boot support.

The arcuate score lines` 18 and 20 in fact form the tops of the panels 12 and 14, respectively, and` hence cause these panels 12 and 14 to bow outwardly, thus to give a generally rounded configuration to the boot support. Also, the connecting panel 16 will have the ends thereof higher than the middle pant thereof, the connect- In FIG. 3 there is shown a boot 40 having a boot sup-v port in accordance with the present invention inserted therein. The length of the panels 12 and 14 is such that the connecting panel 16 is generally below the top of the boot 40 when the boot support is inserted all the way into the boot 40 so that the bottom ends of the panels 12 and 14 engage the inner sole of the boot. Thus, the boot has a generally rounded appearance when the boot support of the present invention is inserted therein, and is held upright so that it has a generally attractive, neat and natural appearance to the purchaser when placed ondisplay with the supportv of the present invention therein. The support of the present invention may be readily inserted into and withdrawn from the boot 40 upon engagement of a thumb and linger through the holes provided by the tabs 22 and 24. r

There has been provided a support for boots and the After manufacture, any given number invention may be readily erected by hand and maybe easily and quickly inserted to and removed from boots. .It will be obvious to'those skilled in the art that various changes maybe madewithout departing from the spirit of the invention and therefore theinventionv is not limited to what is shown in the drawings and described in thespecification'but only`as indicated in the appended claims.V Y Y whatis claimed is:

l. A' boot-upperv support comprising a single piece of `foldable sheet material having an inverted U-shaped configuration andconiprising a generally horizontal concavo-convex connecting panel, and a pair of depending 'elongated support panels foldably connected at upper "end portions `toopposite sides of said connecting panel, said connecting panel and. support panels including a common hinge connection therebetween comprising an .outwardly extending, bowed fold-line, said support panels being bowed outwardly and transversely along their entire vlengthdue to being folded at said common hinge connection, said `connecting panel including gripping means for facilitating the manual insertion and removal of the boot-uppersupport in afboot-upper. 2.` A boot support comprising a generally horizontal connecting panel and a pair of depending, generallyrvertically extending support panels connected therewith, said support panels each being outwardly bowed and connected to said connecting panel along an arcuate, outwardly bowed juncture, and a pair of tabs partially disconnected from said connecting panel, each said tab being 'pfoldably connected to' said connecting panel along a fold line. Y Y

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